emoney_33

Thinking selfishly I agree . I do hope Matt gets all the money he deserves though (assuming he continues to develop positively).

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Jared

Not necessarily. Even mid-low range starting QB money is a lot to tie up for a backup. If this is the direction it's headed, what happens?

We franchise Cassel. 14 million in cap space vanishes.
We entertain trade offers. Teams don't offer us as much as we had hoped.
Either A: We trade Matt for less than we wanted, and are still out a backup QB.
Or B: Cassel signs tender, costing the team a ton of money.

TruthSeeker

Actually, you risk quite a bit by tagging him because the market value of Cassel is just speculation. Perhaps someone does want to give him 20M guaranteed (he'd already be getting 14M guaranteed for 1 year by signing the offer sheet; you'd need to push that to closer to 20M to make it attractive enough for him to move on). Even if they do, how do you know that they also want to give up something significant in a trade? You don't.

The "risk nothing by tagging him" remark is just wrong. There is significant risk. Since the Patriots would already be getting a 3rd round compensation pick, you have to question whether the risk of being stuck for $14M in salary cap is worth the improvement from an end of 3rd round pick to whatever you might get in a franchised player trade - particularly when other teams know that you're pretty much forced to trade him once you franchise him. The downside risk is large; the upside is murky even assuming Matt plays well over the rest of the year.

SuperStang83

Is it possible that Cassel would or could sign a small deal with us so that we could get more for him in FA and we wouldn't be losing much?

MoLewisrocks

It isn't if you accept the underlying concept that Belioli aren't stupid - it's their job to know values and market and they would not tag him (which doesn't happen until late February 2009) unless they are CONFIDENT that he has a market and he will net them something of value beyond a comp pick in 2010. BTW assuming a future 3rd round comp pick is presumptious since even getting a pick is predicated on any FA we sign not negating it as well a secret formula that reportedly quantifies how the player performs relative to the contract he signs.

We got a first for Deion Branch even as the other 31 watched him hold a gun to our heads. In this league somebody always desperately covets what they think you have... We could have flipped Asante in 2007 and likely gotten something a lot more valuable short as well as long term than his performance in the Superbowl (which this offense likely would have gotten us to regardless...). Now we may get an untradeable comp pick at the end of the 3rd round in 2009. Somebody elses second in 2007 and a conditional 2008 pick would have looked nice in the flying Elvis right about now...

MoLewisrocks

If cap vanishes for a couple of weeks or a month, what is the downside? We are $24M under the projected cap for 2009. Even a splashy FA can be added to the roster for a single digit first year cap hit.

We are not out a backup player. We have the 3rd rounder they reportedly graded out as a 1st round talent to replace the 7th rounder who hadn't played since HS...who is currently getting a year of experience as the #2 which is half the experience Cassel had but double what that guy Brady had when he stepped in...

It only takes one team with interest to make a trade and two teams to create a bidding war. If they are reasonable there is no risk. If they were unreasonable it would indicate they are either foolish or willing to pay the price. We're not talking Carl Peterson and his unhappy all world TE who wants out of a rebuild here, this is Belichick and Pioli and they always have a plan A, B, C...

MoLewisrocks

No..........

Jared

A second year played who has never played a meaningful NFL game is not the same as someone who has played a full season (assuming he stays healthy) with solid quality.

ctpatsfan77

It's mostly average annual value of the contract. Doing really well can help, but not much (in other words, even if Asante, God forbid, had been on IR the entire 2008 season, the Pats still would have landed a comp third for him).

More importantly, don't forget the poison pill currently attached to the 2010 season--it will take six seasons to become an unrestricted free agent. That means that if Cassel takes the franchise tag, he's still a restricted free agent in 2010.

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MoLewisrocks

But again, that's just another reason why he wouldn't be a risk to sign it...